Combination angle-tool



H. A. LANDIS.

COMBINATION ANGLE TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2, 1921.

1,398,234. Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY A. LANDIS, OF RED LION, PENNSYLVANIA.

COMBINATION ANGLETOOL.

Application filed March 2, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY A. LANDIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Red Lion, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combination Angle-Tools, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has to do with rotatable tools and relates particularly to screw drivers and the like wherein it is desirable to provide for angular adjustment between the handle part and the tool end.

Primarily it is my object to embody in a single implement provision for its extension, for the interchange of its sections or parts, and for its use with either a straight or angular drive.

It is secondarily an object of this invention to provide anovel universal joint of exceptional compactness and utility and adapted to permit adjustments as great as right angles without material interference with the operativeness of the device; also to produce a cooperative relationship between the sections thereof by virtue of which the strain of operation will be lifted from the universal connection.

It is an additional-object to provide for rapid assembly and dissociation of the several sections to meet changed requirements as they develop. v

These and such other objects as may hereinafter appear are attained by the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically described and claimed. Reference will now be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention as applied to a screw driver.

Fig. 2 is a detailed View partly in section showing the mechanical details of the universal joint.

Fig. 3 is a similar view with the housing removed from said joint.

Figs. 4:, 5, 6 and 7 are plan views of different sections of the device showing the manner of their connection and interchangeability.

Throughout the following detailed description of the several figures of the drawings, similar parts are referred to by llke reference characters.

I have already indicated that the embodiment of the invention disclosed in this Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

Serial No. 449,039.

application depicts its use upon a screw driver best shown in Fig. 1, wherein the letter A is used to designate a conventional handle having the usual ferrule. Adjacent the ferrule is a shank portion provided with a socket member 8, the end of which is notched or slotted for purposes which will later become apparent.

In the figure referred to, the letter B rep resents an extension section, of which a detailed view is shown in Fig. 4:, C indicates the universal joint or connection, part of the subject matter of this invention and D (see Fig. 5) designates the gripping end or screw-engaging art. At one end of each of sectlons and is a socket member 8 similar to that upon the handle section A, while ad acent the other end of these sections and upon section D are oppositely disposed lugs 9 readily formed by inserting a" pin through the member, and adapted to be seated within the notches or slots in the socket member 8 of another section for connection thereto,

Similar connective means are provided upon the T-handle and the socket member illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. It is at once apparent that the sections or parts are ins'tantly interchangeable, admitting of the removal or substitution of any one thereof and the combination of any number of sections at the will of the operator, best suited for his immediate need. I

The universal joint C comprises a connection or main member 10 somewhat elongated in form and having U-shaped ends 11 in which ball members 12 are disposed, said ball members being maintained in position by the pins 13 passing through the U-shaped ends 11 and the center of said balls. Perpendicularly to the pins 13 the ball members 12 are recessed to provide sockets for studs 14 upon the bifurcated ends of the shanks 15. A double universal joint is thus formed. If desired, studs may be substituted for the pins 13. About the joint C is a housing or incasement formed by the complemental and interchangeable members 16, the smaller ends thereof being sleeve-like in form and arranged to form bearings for the shanks 15 which rotate freely therein, while the larger ends are joined one to another by any suitable means, such as the pivot-screws inserted through the ears 17 of the housing members. It will at this point be noted that the housing members 16 are identical and hence, interchangeable and that the opposit sides thereof are oppositely disposed with resfilect to the pivot-screws. v hen pressure is exerted upon the handle part of the screw driver the force thus sup- 7 plied will necessarily be conveyed through the universal joint (J to the bit portion D. Such pressure will have a tendency to buckle the joint C, particularly, when a straight driving force is used. This tendency is entirely overcome through the agency of the incasement' which maintains the shank sections in alinement. vVhen an angular drive is employed the incasement serves to direct the pressure in the manner desired by the user, the incasement of course remaining stationary while the shank parts revolve. To permit the incasement members to adapt themselves to the various angular adjustments of the joint C, provision is made for their movement along the shanks 15, such movement being limited in one di rection by the socket 8 and in the other direction by the lugs or pin 9. Thus, it is also possible to transfer from the universal joint C to the incasement members 16 a part of the strain which would otherwise be exerted directly upon said joint and the wear of operation is thus removed from the latter and taken up by the'incasement members and the lugs or pin 9 and the socket 8.

The loosening or tightening of the pivotscrews between the incasement'members 1 6 7 will enable their adjustment to determine the force required to flex the driver from one position to another. V

Particular attention is directed to the manners in which the bitportion'D may be rotated. By rotation of the handle memher A upon its axis the bit portion D is rotated in the usual manner. When greater leverage is required, however, and espe-- cially, when the universal joint isflexed, the handle member A may be rotated about the axis of the tool portion D, that" is tosay that after a screw has been forced home the finishing rotation can be made by swinging the handle in an arc.

Adaptation of this device to other uses and purposes is illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7 which show substituted parts or accessories; The universal joint 0 comprising but one section of the device and beinginstantly removable therefrom will permit of joining the other sectionsso that the ordinary sectional straight screw driver will be formed. Other arrangements of the parts than those illustrated can be had, the socket and pin locking means providing a rigid connection between the various sections in any arrangement which may be made. While I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention, it is not my intention to be bound thereby, for other uses are apparent and such alterations, modifications and changes as come within the scope of the claims heretoappended are to be resorted to when desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to procure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. Atool of the class described comprising a handle or manipulating section, and a universal joint member including a jointed incasement and joined'shank mem-' bers loosely journaled in said incasement and adapted-to flex to any angle within substantially 90, one of said shank members being provided with a tool-receiving socket, the other of said shank members having projecting means with which the handle sectlon is adapted to interlock. I

2. A universal joint construction for operating tools of the class described comprising a tool-receiving shank and a handlereceiving shank jointed together, and a jointed incasement surrounding the joint of the shank members in which said shank members are loosely journaled, said shank members being shittable longitudinally in the incasement, and means on said shank membersproviding interlocking connection with a tool member and adapted to coact with the incasement to limit the extent of longitudinal-movement thereof.

3. The'combination with a universal joint for connecting shank portions of a tool or the like, of an incasement for said joint comprising correspondingly formed sections, said shank portion being movable slidably relative to the incasement.

4. In combination with a sectional tool or' ture.

HARRY A. LANDIS. 

